Building element



Nov. 2 1926.

J. H. STEDMAN BUILDING ELEMENT Filed March 6l 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Nov.2 1926. 1,605,573

J. H. STEDMAN BUILDING ELEMENT Filed lfaroh 6, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Patented Nov. 2, 1926.

UNITED STATES JAMES H. STEDMAN, F BRAINTREE, MASSACHUSETTS.

BUILDING ELEMENT.

Application filed March 6, 1925. Serial No. 13,518.

This invention relates to a building element and has for its object toprovide a building element of novel construction which is particularlyadapted to be used as a finishing member, for example as a chair rail, abeading, a corner piece, a threshold, or a cove base, which is durable,attractive in appearance, and whose inherent resiliency renders its usefor such purposes particularly advantageous.

The improved building element embodying the features of the presentinvention comprises an elongated strip of rubber or rubber compositionand which is preferably although not necessarily formed of the rubbercomposition reenforced with cotton fiber, of the character described inthe United States patentto James H. Stedman, No. 1,482,952,'datedFebruary 5, 1922, and which possesses an attractive mottled ormarbleized -appearance or design in its surface. The elongated strip ispreferably provided upon one surface with a groove ory depressed portionfor fitting over the lattice when the eler ment is used as a chair rail,and which groove or depressed portion serves to enable the strip orelement to be used for a number of dierent purposes among others infinishing the corners of Walls, as a cove base, as a beading, and as athreshold. The strip or element is preferably formed with one of itslateral surfaces curved and with its opposite lateral surface plane orsubstantially flat, and the depressed portion or groove may convenientlybe formed in the substantially fiat surface to extend centrally andlongitudinally of the strip to thereby form bearing surfaces uponopposite sides of the groove for engaging the surfaces to which theelement is applied, such as the wall when the element is appliedthereto. When the yelement is to be used as a corner finishing piece,the strip may and preferably will be molded into a permanent angularshape to conform to the angle of the corner to be finished.

` These and other features of theinvention will be hereinafter described'and particularly defined in the appended claims.

In the drawings, illustrating the preferred embodiments of theinvention, Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view illustrating the mannerof use of the building element as a wainscot beading; Fig. 2 is aperspective of a portion of the building element illustrated in Fig. l;Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of a portion of the building element shown inFig. 2; Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 1 illustrating the use of theelement as a chair rail in connection with al plastered wall; Fig. 5 1sa perspective of the building element in the form preferably assumedwhenused as a chair rail in connection with a plastered Wall; Fig. 6 isa perspective illustrating the use of the building element as a cornerfinishing piece; and Fig. 7 is a sectional detail illustrating its useas a cove base.'

Referring to the drawings, the building element therein illustratedcomprises a strip 10 of rubber or rubber compound the surface of whichmay present an attractive mottled or marbleized appearance. The rubberstrip 10 is provided in one of its lateral faces with a groove ordepressed portion 12, and in the preferred form of building element thestrip 10 is formed with a curved outer surface and a substantially fiatsurface 16, and the groove or depressed portion 12 is formed in thesubstantially flat surface 16 in the manner illustrated in Figs. 2 and5, extending centrally of the elongated strip 10 to providesubstantially flat bearing surfaces 17 18 upon opposite Asides of thegroove or depressed portion 12.

Referring to Fig. 1, a section of a building construction is thereinillustrated in which the ioor of the room is illustrated as providedwith rubber tile 20 and the wall composed at its upper part of plaster22 and the lower portion 24 composed of rubber wainscot. The cove base26 shown in Fig. 1 may comprise the standard solid rubber cove base nowupon the market. The ,standard wooden lattice 30 is provided between theplastered portion 22 of the Wall and the rubber wainscot, and theimproved building element, preferably molded into the form illustratedin Fig. 2, may be used as a Wainscot bead to complete the finish of thewall. The groove or depressed portion 12 in the building element fitsover the wooden lattice 30 and the bearing surfaces 17, 18 engage theplastered wall and the rubber wainscot. The building element may besecured in the position illustrated in Fig. 1 in any convenient manner,and in practice the bearing surfaces 17, 18 may be rilled with smallrecesses 32 by which a su cient bond to the plastered wall may beobtained to retain the beading in place without ref quiring the use ofadditional fastening devices.

Then the building element is to be used as a chair rail, instead of theusual wooden chair rail heretofore used, the side portions of the strip10 are preferably arranged to taper outwardly to comparatively thinedges, as illustrated in Fig. 5, and such a strip may be ,fitted over astandard wooden lattice 30 upon the plastered wall to provide anattractive and efficient chair rail. The flat bearing surfaces 17, 18 ofthe strip l0, when the latter is used as a chair rail, may be providedwith a quadrille of the small recesses 32 to enable the -strip to befirmly bonded to the plaster.

Vhen used as a corner finishing member, it is desirable that theelongated strip 10 comprising the building element should be pre-formedinto the angular shape corresponding to the angularity of the corner tobe finished and this may be conveniently accomplished during, themanufacture of the improved rubber building element by first molding andvulcanizing the strip in a flat shape, such as is illustrated in Fig. 5,and then placing the hot vulcanized strip in a wooden or other shapingmold of the desired angular sha e, the weakened central area produced byt e groove permitting the marginal portions to be folded toward eachother, and permitting the strip to cool. When thus produced the stripassumes a permanent angular shape. The central groove or depressedportion 12 in the angular strip serves to afford space into which thecorner of the wall, whether right-angular or otherwise shaped, mayextend in order that the bearing surfaces 17 18 may bear upon thesurfaces of the walls and thus avoiding ridges or other objectionableappearance in the finished corner piece and enabling -the corner pieceto be rounded in the manner illustrated in Fig. 6. When so used thebuilding element may be nailed or otherwise secured to the walls, or insome instances it may be temporlarily nailed until the recessed bearingsurfaces 17, 18v become firml bonded in the plaster.

en the improved building element is used as a cove base or a finishingmember for finishing the space between the wall and the Hoor, the grooveor depressed portion 12 provides a longitudinal weakened area whichimparts lateral flexibility to the strip and enables it to be bent alongsaid area into the shape illustrated in Fig. 7, and in which the fiatbearing members 17, 18 rest against the iioor and wall respectively. Thestrip may be secured in this position by nailing or in any otherconvenient manner. When the fioor is to be composed of rubber tiling,the building element or strip will preferably taper sufficiently toprovide end surfaces of the thickness of the rubber tiling, so that asmooth and continuous joint and curve may be secured from the tiledfloor to the wall.v

From the description thus far it will be observed that the improvedrubber building element is of a construction which readily adapts itselfto use as a finishing member capable of being employed for a number ofpurposes. The longitudinal groove 12 not only serves to permit theelement to 7 be used as a chair rail or wainscot beading, fittings overthe standard wooden lattice, but also it serves to enable the element tobe shaped for use as a corner piece and impart a rounded and nicelyfinished appearance to the corner. In addition the groove 12 impartssufficient lateral flexibility to the element to permit its use as acove base. It will therefore be seen that the single construction ofelement is capable of a multiplicity of uses, enabling the manufacturethereof to be standardized and roviding a minimum manufacturing cost orthe various finishing members.

The improved building element being composed of rubber or of rubbercomposition, because of the inherent qualities of the rubber, possessesimportant practical advantages over the usual wooden building elementswhich have heretofore been employed as finishing strips or members inbuilding construction. The resiliency of the rubber element protects notonly the walls or other portion of the building to which it is applied,but also serves to prevent the chairs, and other. furniture andhousehold appliances from injury. and from being marred.

By the term rubber as used in the specification and claims, it isintended to include not only pure rubber but'also compounds andcompositions thereof which are capable of being molded to form thebuilding element.

While the preferred form of the invention has been illustrated anddescribed, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied inother forms within the scope of the following claims:

1. A building element for use as a protective corner iece or cornerfiller comprising an elongate rubber strip having its centrallongitudinal section grooved so as to be of less thickness than theimmediately adjacent portions of the margins at either side of saidgroove, and having said margins bent from said groove as a longitudinal`axis to stand substantially at right angles to each other and form atrough-like structure adapted to fit either a protruding orrecedingcorner.

2. A building element comprising an elongated rubber strip the thicknessdimension of which is small compared to its width dimension, having a.weakened central portion formed by an open and unobstructed longi- 130tudinal groove of substantially rectan lar cross-section and providing areadily xible longitudinal joint, marginal portions that are thinner attheir edges than adjacent\ said flexible joint, having flat innerbearing surfaces both in the same plane that are spaced apart by saidgroove, said marginal portions being freely foldable toward or away fromeach other through an angular 'distance of at least 90 to either side ofthe strip along said longitudinal groove a's a heel.`

3. A building element for use as a corner piece or the like comprisingan elongated rubber strip having a central area throughout its length ofless thickness than the adjoining marginal portions and bent laterallyalong the longitudinal axis formed by said thinned central area as aheel to present said marginal portions at an angle to each other andshape the element to lit the corner.

4. A building element for use as a reinforcement for protruding Wallcorners comprising an elongated trough-like strip of rubber having acentral longitudinal groove in one face providing bearing surfaces ateach side of the groove, and having said' bearing surfaces folded towardeach other along said groove as a longitudinal axis to an angularrelation for embracing a protruding Wall corner and presenting aconvexly rounded longitudinal corner surface at the fold and about theangle of the Wall corner.

JAMES H. STEDMAN.

